Activation of Operational Thinking during Arithmetic Practice Hinders Learning and Transfer

Autor/inn/en	Chesney, Dana L.; McNeil, Nicole M.
Titel	Activation of Operational Thinking during Arithmetic Practice Hinders Learning and Transfer
Quelle	In: Journal of Problem Solving, 7 (2014) 1, Artikel 4 (12 Seiten) PDF als Volltext (1); PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei (2) Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	Weitere Informationen
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1932-6246
DOI	10.7771/1932-6246.1165
Schlagwörter	Thinking Skills; Arithmetic; Undergraduate Students; Interference (Learning); Control Groups; Mathematics Skills; Multiplication; Transfer of Training; Hypothesis Testing; Algebra; Mathematical Concepts; Mathematics Instruction; Pretests Posttests; Concept Formation; Children + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Denkfähigkeit; Addition; Arithmetik; Arithmetikunterricht; Rechnen; Mathmatics achievement; Mathematics ability; Mathematische Kompetenz; Multiplikation; Training; Transfer; Ausbildung; Hypothesenprüfung; Hypothesentest; Mathematics lessons; Mathematikunterricht; Concept learning; Begriffsbildung; Child; Kind; Kinder
Abstract	Many children in the U.S. initially come to understand the equal sign operationally, as a symbol meaning "add up the numbers" rather than relationally, as an indication that the two sides of an equation share a common value. According to a change-resistance account (McNeil & Alibali, 2005b), children's operational ways of thinking are never erased, and when activated, can interfere with mathematics learning and performance, even in educated adults. To test this theory, undergraduates practiced unfamiliar multiplication facts (e.g., 17-times table) in one of three conditions that differed in terms of how the equal sign was represented in the problems. In the operational words condition, the equal sign was replaced by operational words (e.g., "multiplies to"). In the relational words condition, the equal sign was replaced by relational words (e.g., "is equivalent to"). In the control condition, the equal sign was used in all problems. The hypothesis was that undergraduates' fluency with practiced facts and transfer problems would be hindered in the operational words condition compared to the other conditions. Results supported this hypothesis, indicating that the activation of operational thinking is indeed detrimental to learning and transfer, even in educated adults. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01